Since graduating in Mechatronic Engineering at Insper, Rodrigo Lopes Catto has worked in various fields involving industrial automation and computer vision. Recently, he was a robotics engineer at Spacetime Labs, also known as Moray AI, a Brazilian startup focused on agricultural solutions.

 

“There, I participated in the development of an autonomous agricultural robot, from conception to creating a minimum viable product, integrating software and hardware with a focus on autonomous navigation,” he reports. “This experience confirmed my passion for robotics applied to real-world problems and reinforced my desire to further deepen my knowledge in the field.”

 

It was not his first experience with autonomous machines. Between 2015 and 2019, when he was an undergraduate student of Mechatronic Engineering at Insper, he participated in founding SMASH, the institution's first robotics club. “Together with two friends, we participated in various robot battle competitions,” says he, who was born in São Paulo, 28 years ago.

 

Today Rodrigo lives in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States, where he is pursuing a master’s degree in Robotics at Carnegie Mellon University (CMU), considered among the best robotics universities in the world. Of the more than 400 students already graduated from this program, he is just the third Brazilian to enroll in the master's program at the institution. And so, Rodrigo continues a consistent path, initiated in undergraduate studies, a decade ago.

 

Historical Institute

 

Founded in 1900, under the name Carnegie Technical Schools, the American institution has established its reputation in the fields of engineering, computer science, and machine development. Its Robotics Institute was established in 1979 and is a global reference not only in essential robotics technologies such as manipulation, locomotion, and control but also in related research areas, including machine learning, computer vision, and graphics. It was CMU that created the world's first autonomous vehicle in 1986.

 

Securing a spot in the institution's master's program represented another step in Rodrigo's career, who chose to attend Insper while still in High School. “I was looking for an engineering education that combines technical excellence with a practical and multidisciplinary approach. Insper's innovative curriculum, with a strong foundation in projects from the first semesters, attracted me greatly. It was there that I was able to explore different areas, such as electronics, software, and mechanics, in an integrated way,” he says.

 

He also helped organize events within the college and participated in a technological initiation project that consisted of building an autonomous vehicle, the McJetson, named because it used a board called Nvidia Jetson as an embedded processor.

 

The initiative's objective was to adapt a radio-controlled car so that it featured an autonomous system with embedded processing, capable of identifying its location, mapping routes, and designing itineraries based on reference points to avoid obstacles. “These experiences were fundamental in developing my creativity, teamwork ability, and problem-solving skills,” he reports.

 

Critical thinking

 

Close contact with professors and, especially, with laboratory technicians was essential for learning throughout his journey, says the master's student at CMU. “They supported me in various projects, sharing practical knowledge, guiding experiments, and helping to turn ideas into reality using best practices. This foundation prepared me to face complex challenges, such as those found in the robotics industry,” he states.

 

Continuing with academic experiences, the professional career continues to be built continuously and focused on robotics. “I started at a multinational industrial automation company, then moved on to work with computer vision at a startup, developing intelligent visual inspection systems in the industry,” he says.

 

“Next, I worked on developing robots aimed at detecting out-of-stock products in supermarkets, until I reached agricultural robotics, where I participated from the start, in the development of autonomous robots aimed at detecting pests and diseases in Brazil, a project that resulted in several patents,” he adds.

 

“Today, at CMU, I continue seeking ways to apply robotics to positively transform sectors like agriculture, logistics, and the environment. The training at Insper was essential for me to reach this point,” says the alumnus. “More than teaching technical content, the institution taught me to think critically, work in groups, and deal with problems in a structured way. These are qualities I continue to cultivate in my professional journey.”